Tom Brady practiced with the New England Patriots for the first time Tuesday since suffering a season-ending knee injury in last season’s opening game.

Brady and nearly the entire team participated in the first of four days of this week’s organized team activities in Foxborough, Mass., Patriots spokesman Stacey James said.

The first three days of OTAs were held last week for young players and others signed as free agents in the offseason. The sessions are voluntary.

The only media access for this week’s sessions is Thursday. James said Tuesday that Brady threw passes and did other activities during his first formal practice with the club since he suffered a torn left knee ligament in the first quarter of the Patriots’ 17-10 win over Kansas City.

In an interview for this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, Brady, 31, said he has no pain or restrictions in his movement when he runs and cuts. The former Serra High and Michigan star was quoted as saying that he is “as confident as anyone could be that I’ll be ready to play, back to playing normally, when the season starts. I’ve done everything I could to push myself, sometimes too hard. Right now, I’m doing everything. Literally everything. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Cowboys: Veteran pass rusher Greg Ellis, who has a recent history of complaining about his role, his contract, or both, will likely play elsewhere in 2009, owner Jerry Jones said. The only question is whether the departure comes through a trade or the linebacker’s release. Either way, the Cowboys figure to get about $4 million in salary cap relief. Jones said an admittedly contentious relationship had nothing to do with a divorce from the 1998 first-round draft pick. Jones said the development of Anthony Spencer and other young players figured into the decision. … The Cowboys released cornerback Tra Battle and defensive tackle Casey Tyler.

Colts: All Peyton Manning wants from Indianapolis is a game plan. It may take the team a little longer to satisfy the three-time NFL MVP. The front office is trying determine how retired assistants Tom Moore and Howard Mudd will fit into this season’s plans. Manning, who usually toes the company line, would like a better understanding of what to expect. “I’m not sure everybody’s on the same page in this building,” he said. Moore and Mudd retired two weeks ago to avoid losing money under the NFL’s revised pension plan. Last week, team owner Jim Irsay said both would return as consultants. Apparently, those details are still being worked out. Assistant head coach Clyde Christensen will assume play-calling duties and assistant line coach Pete Metzelaars will have the word “assistant” dropped from his title, new coach Jim Caldwell said.

Cardinals: Wide receiver Anquan Boldin is in the process of firing his agent Drew Rosenhaus. Boldin, in a long contract dispute with the team, informed the NFL Players Association that he intended to replace the agent. Rosenhaus issued a statement saying he has “great respect” for Boldin. “I’m hopeful we can work things out and he will return to the Rosenhaus Sports family in the near future.” Boldin is upset with the team’s management over what he says was a failed promise for a new deal last offseason. He has asked for a trade. He has a base salary of $2.75 million next season and $3 million in 2010.

Browns: Cleveland signed free-agent cornerback Rod Hood, a starter for Arizona in last season’s Super Bowl.

Dolphins: Miami signed cornerback Will Allen to a two-year extension, Rosenhaus said, adding the deal is worth $16.2 million over the next three years, with $10 million in guarantees. Allen recorded 50 tackles and three interceptions last season.

Panthers: Former Carolina safety Mike Minter decided against seeking the Republican nomination for North Carolina’s 8th District seat in 2010. He said the job would put too much of a strain on his family.

Etc.: Supersized NFL players are prone to high blood pressure but fare better on some other health measures than more average-sized men, new league-sponsored research shows. The mixed results suggest intense physical conditioning can help reduce but not wipe out ill effects excess weight has on heart disease-related risks. The study involved 504 players age 27 on average.

Three women have told the New York Times that music mogul Russell Simmons raped them, the latest in a cascade of serious allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men in entertainment, media, politics and elsewhere.